Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Finish Higher After Up-and-Down Day of Trading

Stocks rose on Wednesday, Jan. 31, after a robust outlook from Boeing Co. (BA) but then began to fall as Wall Street digested an announcement on interest rates from the Federal Reserve. But Wall Street rebounded and stocks finished the day higher.

The U.S. central bank decided not to raise interest rates at its meeting Wednesday. But economists do expect the central bank to lift rates when it next meets in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 75 points, or 0.28%. The S&P 500 rose 0.05% and the Nasdaq jumped 0.12%.

Stocks dropped sharply on Tuesday, Jan. 30, with the Dow tumbling by 362 points, or 1.37%, to 26,076 after healthcare and energy stocks took it on the chin. The S&P 500 dropped 1.09% while the Nasdaq declined 0.86%.

Boeing, the world's biggest planemaker and the biggest daily influence on the Dow, said it expects to deliver as many as 815 commercial planes this year, up from 763 in 2017, after posting record quarterly adjusted earnings of $4.80 a share on sales of $25.4 billion. Shares rose 5%.

The U.S. private sector added 234,000 jobs in January, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc. Economists had expected private payrolls to rise by 177,500. The ADP report is a precursor to the official U.S. jobs report for January that will be released on Friday, Feb. 2.

U.S. pending home sales for December rose 0.5%, in line with economists' forecasts.

"This market appears to have very little appetite to extend losses three days in a row -- something it hasn't done in some time," said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade. "(Tuesday's) decline may have even been a welcome respite for investors seeking buying opportunities amid historically high valuations."

Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (FUJIY) reached an agreement with document company Xerox Corp. (XRX) to combine the company and their longstanding Fuji Xerox joint venture, following pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn. Fujifilm also said it would cut 10,000 jobs globally at the joint venture to cut costs.

Under terms of the deal, Fujifilm will own 50.1% of Xerox shares, and combine Xerox with Fuji Xerox, their joint venture that is 75% owned by Fujifilm.

Xerox shares gained 5%.

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA) reached an agreement with the National Football League to broadcast the next five seasons of Thursday Night Football beginning in 2018. Fox shares declined 4%.

The dollar index, which benchmarks the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, slid 0.06% to 89.14. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note yields rose slightly to 2.735%.